PR TIMES AFRICA PR TIMES AFRICA Magazine june 2015 | Page 39

PUBLIC RELATIONS:
TIPS FOR SMALL BUSINESS
I
n working with the Five
O'Clock Club on public
relations issues during the past
few months, I've learned many
members are associated with
smaller businesses either as
owners, consultants or freelancers.
As a small business owner myself
with a background in corporate
public relations, I'm always
interested in helping such
individuals learn to become their
own best self-promoters, both for
themselves and their businesses. I
believe it's a good idea to learn
good p.r. techniques whatever your
career goals or job search level
may be.
It's a good idea to learn good P.R.
techniques whatever your career
goals or job search level may be.
Why Public Relations for Small
Businesses?
I'm always surprised that most
clients think of public relations in
the same outmoded way: merely
old-fashioned publicity”ink”or
worse, contrived sham
productions”stunts.” I also hear the
term misused as a fuzzy catch-all,
meaning anything from marketing
and advertising to surveys and free
samples. And nearly everyone
presumes a P.R. effort requires a
big expensive agency.
None of these perceptions are
remotely accurate anymore.
Certainly, P.R. will always focus
heavily on publicity, but today it
includes community participation,
bylined articles, public speaking,
media commentary, relationships
with local area reporters and
development of good professional
citizenship.
What comes to mind when you
hear “public relations?” Most
likely, your reaction is the same
one I usually get from both large
and small business clients. I have
been a P.R. consultant for years, yet These elements of P.R. can be
particularly effective at local and
regional levels and therefore,
especially useful to people in small
business. Shopowners, freelancers,
contractors, entrepreneurs, writers,
consultants, homeworkers and
PR TIMES AFRICA VOL 1. JULY 2015
1ST EDITION
others making a living at a more
“grassroots” level actually have
opportunities and forums beyond
the usual advertising and
networking options and they can
learn to be their own best
promoters. However, good P.R. is
still an art of sorts and requires
some research, thought and
planning (but not necessarily
expense!) at any level.
Surprisingly, even large
corporations often fail to realize
who their audiences actually are.
A Modern Definition
It's always good to start with a
good, clear definition: “public
relations” is simply accurate,
consistent and timely
communications that convey the
right message to the right audience.
This is true across-the-board for
businesses of any size.
Creating a P.R. Plan
So how can you apply this
definition to your small business?
To get started on a P.R. effort, there
are three relatively simple steps
you can take:
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